Ends Of The Earth
by Princess Misery
Summary: He's ok. He's ok. He's ok. I tell myself over and over again, it's more of an internal chant in my head now. I know he's ok, he can take care of himself, he has his weapons and he's not alone. But then the anxiety hits and I ask myself, for the millionth time, can we actually trust these people? Daryl/OC. A short scene of confessing love. I had a dream and it inspired me.
1. Chapter 1

_He's ok. He's ok. He's ok._ I tell myself over and over again, it's more of an internal chant in my head now. I know he's ok, he can take care of himself, he has his weapons and he's not alone. But then the anxiety hits and I ask myself, for the millionth time, can we actually trust these people? 

It's been 4 days since we arrived in Alexandria, the first night wasn't so bad, we all slept together in the same house, the same room, and he was close, I could hear his breathing and if I wanted to (or had the guts too) I could have reached out and touched him. 

The next 3 nights we slept in separate houses, in real beds with pillows and blankets and warmth yet it was the coldest, hardest night's sleep I've had in forever. 

I woke this morning and walked down the stairs to eat breakfast with everyone as we had done the past 3 mornings, all eating together. We hadn't discussed it but everyone gravitated to the Grimes House, as I'm now calling it, to eat together. 

His absence was the first thing I noticed. He never sat at the table, opting to stand against a counter top or lean against the door, as if he needed an exit strategy, but every morning he was the first person I looked at and he watched me enter the room, but today he was gone. 

I swallowed the panic and accepted the mug of coffee Carol passed me with a sympathetic smile. My mind immediately went to a bad place. He wasn't comfortable in Alexandria, he was like a caged animal. 

What if he decided to leave?

What if he saw we were all ok here? We could make a life, and he decided to leave?

What if it was all too much and he decided to leave?

What if, what if, what if, what if? 

The group laughs and I totally missed the joke but fake a smile anyway. 

Carol puts a reassuring hand on my arm "Are you ok?" she must know what I'm thinking, as my eyes scan the room to make sure he isn't around a corner or I just wasn't paying attention. 

I smile, but it doesn't reach my eyes "Yeah, I'm fine, just didn't sleep well". No one seems panicked so I assume he's around somewhere, I'm being irrational, if he had left without telling anyone we'd all be on the road looking for him. Carol lives with him she would know, wouldn't she? 

It took an hour for everyone to clear out, leaving myself and Carol to clean up after breakfast, it's so strange washing dishes in a sink. As soon as I heard Rick close the front door I asked the burning question, almost spitting it at her "Where's Daryl?" 

Carol smirks, that glint of knowing in her eye. Carol is probably the only person who figured out how I feel about him, long before I did. "He and Aaron went on a test run together, to see if they can work together". 

I released a breath I didn't realise I was holding and Carol laughed at me. Daryl had told us the day before Aaron had recruited him to be his partner in finding other people, it was the perfect job for him, almost too perfect, motorbikes, house, jobs for everyone, school for Carl, its all too good to be true. The trust issue pops in to my mind again. 

"I thought…" 

"I know what you thought" she interrupted "he said they'll be back for dinner"


	2. Chapter 2

Dinner was three hours ago, or it was in the Grimes House anyway. Carol made Lasagne and homemade garlic bread with salad, we saved him a plate. I made a sharp exit out the back door the second Sasha finished eating, the last person to finish, and took myself to the woods. Rick called after me but Carol told him to let me go and no one pursued me. No one in the Grimes Group, (I heard an 'Alexandrian' call us that and I like it so I'm using it), is stupid they all know what I'm thinking, they're all thinking the same, they're just not as invested as I am.

I'm a mile or so from Alexandria. In the dark with the sound of the wind and surrounded by the small night creatures, I can almost convince myself everything is normal, then I feel the gun cold against the small of my back and I'm reminded nothing is normal anymore. I have a knife too but I don't fear the walkers, I fear never seeing him again.

Daryl and I became close at the prison. We went on runs together, he trusted me, we worked well together, I had tracking experience before the walkers but nowhere near as good as him so he taught me everything he knew. We were the perfect hunting partners, we didn't need words, we knew the next move the other would make before we made them, we thought the same way, agreeing on where to go, where not go. I felt it was developing in to more than friendship, and I think he wanted it to, but then everything went south, fast.

After we all got separated and it was just me and him together on the road he became even more guarded. Then Terminus happened and he completely closed off, he put his walls back up, he avoided being alone with me.

I pace back and forth in about 10 foot of space between 2 trees. I've been doing it so long the fallen leafs have given way to earth and mud. _He's ok. He's ok. He's ok._ I repeat it over and over again but it doesn't make me believe it, until I see his face I won't believe it.

My legs begin to ache, either from pacing or for the fact I'm wound so tight I can't relax my muscles. I lean against the tree facing in the direction I came from Alexandria. I hear a branch break to my left and stop breathing to listen. The creatures go quiet, they have become accustomed to my presence, they no longer see me as a threat. But this new person is unknown, could be a threat to them, I know it's not a walker, it's too quiet.

Then he appears from behind a tree 15 foot in front of me, cross bow slung over his back, his waistcoat and short sleeved shirt exposing his bare arms, they glisten slightly in the moon light where sweat beads have broken on his skin, brown hair over his eyes. I always wonder how he can see properly, why he doesn't brush it out of the way.

He approaches slowly keeping eye contact and I suddenly have the urge to punch him, how long has he been watching me? One thing I know about Daryl Dixon is he watches everyone before approaching, even to people he knows.

"Carol said you were out here," he tells me. Carol seems to have taken on the role of messenger today "she said you're mad at me" he sits on a fallen tree trunk and looks at me expectantly.

Am I mad at him? Or am I hurt he didn't tell me where he was going? I have no right to be either, I'm not his keeper. I sigh and stare up at the sky, and it's blurry. I realise I am crying, from relief of seeing him, relief he is alive, relief he is here with me in the woods, like old times. Just the two of us.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath before I speak "You realise you're not a single unit anymore right?" my voice is stern, accusing, I don't wait for an answer, I stare him dead square in the eye "people rely on you. It's not just Daryl Dixon anymore. You're part of a family. A family that needs you, for survival, for help, for protection, you're part of this group now, whether you like it or not."

He breaks eye contact and looks at his feet. I sigh, what do I have to lose? I could be dead tomorrow. Why not say it out loud? Tell him the truth?

"I need you" tears fill my eyes again and I can't stop them from falling "for totally selfish, none survival reasons. So if you want to leave, that's fine, go right ahead, sign me up cause I'm coming with you!" it comes out angrily, but I don't mean it.

The tears flow freely and my voice is about the break so I take a deep breath again, it rattles on the way in and I have to put my hands on my knees and bend at the waist to compose myself "I thought…" I can't say it out loud, it's too real if I say it out loud, I say it to the floor "I thought you had left us today…I thought you had left me" I stand up straight and look at him for a reaction.

He stands up abruptly and I'm afraid he's going to turn and walk away, leave me alone in the woods with my tears, he crosses the distance between us in 2 long strides and takes my face in his hands. Before I register what is happening his lips claim mine and I can taste cigarettes, coffee and my own tears. I run my hands down his arms and feel the contours of his muscles and feel the sweat dried in to his skin from a hard day in the sun. His hands release my face and travel to my waist pulling me closer to him and it's not enough, it's not close enough, I tease his mouth open with my tongue and sigh into him.

I don't know who pulls away first or after how long but we lean our heads together and I keep my eyes closed, wanting to savour every second, I whisper "Daryl Dixon I would go to the ends of the earth _**for**_ you and _**with**_you. Even further if a place exists"

He kisses my lips lightly again "you still mad at me?" he asks, I don't need to see his face, I can hear the smile in his voice.


End file.
